MotoGP testing is heavily restricted in the off-season, but there's no regulation that can stop riders from honing their skills in track events on road bikes - or dirt bikes.
And several MotoGP regulars' dirt-track skills get a major workout during the 100km dei Campioni, an annual event organised by seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi and his VR46 Academy structure.
The upcoming 100km event, scheduled for January 10-11, will mark the 10th edition of the friendly competition using 450cc dirt bikes.
Where is it?
The 100km dei Campioni is held at Valentino Rossi's Ranch venue near his native Tavullia, in the central-east part of Italy.
It is a dirt track owned by Rossi where he and his VR46 proteges - of which there are currently four on the MotoGP grid (Franco Morbidelli, Pecco Bagnaia, Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi) - train regularly.
What's the format?
The headline event - a 100km 'doubles' race with rider swaps - will take place on Saturday and crown the event winner.
Before that, however, there's a kind of individual glory up for grabs through qualifying and then the 'Americana' heat race contest, which ends up with a single winner but also forms the grid for the 100km race.
Who's running?
Rossi and his 'disciples' make up just a small part of the 46-rider entry list, covering all classes of grand prix racing as well as numerous riders invited from outside MotoGP - including Isle of Man TT frontrunners Michael Dunlop and Davey Todd.
Entry list
MotoGP riders
Augusto Fernandez (test rider)
Enea Bastianini
Franco Morbidelli
Luca Marini
Marco Bezzecchi
Miguel Oliveira
Pedro Acosta
Valentino Rossi (retired)
Moto2 riders
Alberto Surra
Andrea Migno
Diogo Moreira
Manu Gonzalez
Mattia Pasini
Xavier Artigas
Moto3 riders
Filippo Farioli
Ivan Ortola
Jose Antonio Rueda
Luca Lunetta
Matteo Bertelle
Alberto Surra
MotoE riders
Andrea Mantovani
Mattia Casadei
World Superbike paddock riders
Andrea Locatelli
Dominique Aegerter
Elia Bartolini
Federico Caricasulo
Federico Fuligni
Lorenzo Baldassarri
Nicolo Bulega
Tito Rabat
Other riders
Davey Todd (two-time Isle of Man TT winner)
Filippo Fuligni (Italian Supersport rider)
Gautier Paulin (former world championship motocross rider, five-time Motocross of Nations winner)
JD Beach (MotoAmerica rider, Red Bull Rookies Cup champion)
Lasse Kurvinen (two-time flat track world champion)
Luca Ottaviani (Italian Supersport rider)
Marco Belli (flat track world champion)
Matteo Gabarrini (VR46 Academy rider, son of Pecco Bagnaia's crew chief Cristian Gabarrini)
Matteo Patacca (Italian Supersport rider)
Michael Dunlop (29-time Isle of Man TT winner)
Ryan Vickers (British Superbike rider)
Sammy Halbert (reigning flat track world champion)
Thomas Chareyre (eight-time supermoto world champion)
Tim Neave (flat track world championship rider)
Who are the favourites?
Unsurprisingly, Rossi and his proteges - more familiar with the track than anyone - have dominated the event historically.
But it's Rossi's brother and team-mate Luca Marini - who is the factory rider for Honda in MotoGP - who stands as the most accomplished competitor in the event as of late, going unbeaten in the recent 'Americana' single-rider contests.
Past 100km podiums
2014
- Niccolo Bulega - Lorenzo Baldassarri
- Valentino Rossi - Andrea Migno
- Mattia Pasini - Danilo Petrucci
2016
- Valentino Rossi - Luca Marini
- Danilo Petrucci - Franco Morbidelli
- Andrea Dovizioso - Thomas Chareyre
January 2017
Cut short due to snow
December 2017
- Franco Morbidelli - Mattia Pasini
- Valentino Rossi - Luca Marini
- Danilo Petrucci - Luca Baldassarri
2018
- Valentino Rossi - Franco Morbidelli
- Lorenzo Baldassarri - Mattia Pasini
- Dennis Foggia - Federico Fuligni
2019
- Valentino Rossi - Luca Marini
- Franco Morbidelli - Andrea Migno
- JD Beach - Sammy Halbert
2021
- Valentino Rossi - Luca Marini
- Stefano Manzi - Elia Bartolini
- Mattia Pasini - Lorenzo Baldassarri
2022
- Elia Bartolini - Lorenzo Baldassarri
- Valentino Rossi - Luca Marini
- Celestino Vietti - Niccolo Antonelli
2024
- Valentino Rossi - Luca Marini
- Elia Bartolini - Celestino Vietti
- Franco Morbidelli - Andrea Migno
What it's actually like
Simon Patterson
It started out as something that Rossi only did for the Academy guys and selected friends, but has morphed into a fairly major event now - with sponsors in attendance and Sky Italy broadcasting.
Riders over the years have still mainly been Italian, but Rossi has always invited a few international mates from here and there, a few grand prix riders that he's been impressed with over the years, and normally a few Monster Energy athletes - like Michael Dunlop and Davey Todd this year. There's also normally a few flat-track specialists as well, although it's different enough from what they race that they're not normally as fast as you'd expect.
Despite the fact that the event's got a bit bigger in recent years, it's still very chill. Everyone eats together in the farmhouse at the centre of the ranch, Rossi mingles with everyone instead of being as detached as he would be on a MotoGP weekend, and it's generally still a mates' trip rather than a very serious thing.
Contrast it with the famous Marc Marquez visit to the Ranch in 2014 - before the 100km was a thing - when the fellow MotoGP legend showed up with a level of preparation and intensity that Rossi and those close to him are known to have objected to.
The 100km - which you won't be stunned to hear Marquez has never been part of, his relationship with Rossi having never recovered from their late-2015 controversy - has all got a very VR46 feel to it, with DJs during the race, a bit of a Rossi theatrical flair to it, and prizes are paid out in the form of food, with the winner getting sausages from Rossi's local butcher!
